Emmy Nominations 2013: My Snappy Judgments

The 2013 Emmy nominations were, as per usual, both thrilling and infuriating. For every inspired nod (congrats, Carrie Preston!) there was one that had me scratching the skin off my scalp (no Tatiana Maslany?!). So without further adieu, I give you the good, the bad and the downright ugly from this year’s list.

I’m Super-Pissed About:* The Good Wife getting shut out of the drama series category for the second consecutive year. Julianna Margulies didn’t even make the cut.
* New Girl getting shut out of all major categories for its best season so far.
* Zero recognition for The Big Bang Theory‘s secret weapons Simon Helberg and Melissa Rauch.
* No Jennifer Carpenter? WTF?
* No love for Parenthood’s Monica Potter. Still processing that snub.
* Parks and Recreation failing to score a best comedy nod.* The absence of Orphan Black‘s Tatiana Maslany (because it bears repeating). Ditto The Americans‘ Matthew Rhys.
* Southland getting bubkes. (What does Michael Cudlitz have to do to get a nomination?!)
* Sons of Anarchy’s Katey Sagal getting overlooked.
* No nod for The Walking Dead’s Andrew Lincoln.
* Nada for Game of Thrones‘ Nikolaj Coster Waldau.

The Emmys made me more sad than happy this year. I am happy for Mandy Patinkin and Morena Baccarin. I was a little worried they wouldn’t get in. And I am happy for Jonathan Banks and Adam Driver and I am over the moon about Melissa Leo getting in for Leo. And I couldn’t be more thrilled that I correctly called Bobby Cannavale’s Boardwalk Empire nomination. I freaking knew he was in. I am devastated about the snubbing of Arrested Development and Will Arnett and Jessica Walter, not to mention all their great guest stars. I could pitch a fit like a 2-year old right now. There are some snubs that I expected, like Emmy Rossum and Michael Cudlitz, so I was prepared for them. But nothing could prepare me for the disappointment of David Lynch and Parker Posey not getting nominated for Louie and those Arrested Development snubs. They are ouchies that require large band-aids.

Michael Cudlitz was phenomenal on Southland. I have the last episode saved and will never delete it. I’d like to know what the reasons were for his not being nominated. The Emmy’s never fail to irritate. More Cudlitz now!!

I’m annoyed that Nurse Jackie and Enlightened take awards away from actual comedies. And Girls, that is really, really not a comedy. Just because they are 30 min, they are not comedies. These three shows are dramas, barely dramedies in my opinion. It’s good work, and should be recognized, but definitely not in that category. Even Edie Falco has said she doesn’t consider her show a comedy.

Tatiana Maslany not only deserved a nomination, I’m sure any actress out there would say she deserves to win. Like with deciding if it’s 30 min it must be comedy, the Emmys seem to think if it’s Sci-Fi it’s not a real drama. Any fan of those shows knows they can be funnier and more dramatic they any other genre show out there when they are well done. It’s a very big blind spot when it comes to awards, which is why they had to make there own exclusive to that genre. Very unfortunate.

They need to make a dramedy category. Then people who keep missing out on a nomination would finally get one. Since they’ve allowed non-television things to be nominated at a television awards shows, you’d think they could add dramedy. I understand there is limited time to present on TV but that should not limit recognizing good work.

Also get over the genre and time format prejudices. The rules are pretty simple, if your laughing for most of the show (and it was supposed to be funny) it’s a comedy, if you’re not it’s a drama (or a really unfunny comedy) and if it’s a split it’s a dramedy, no matter how long the show is (and apparently now, even if it’s not really on TV).

I agree that there should be a separate category for dramadies. If they are worried about time constraints, than they could eliminate outstanding host of a reality show competition. The only people who seem to care about this category, do so because they love Cat Deeley, but seeing how this is almost always given to Jeff Probst(somehow Tom Bergeron snagged it last year) I think they could get rid of it. For that matter, I would get rid of all the reality show stuff. Is any of it really exceptional. It may be entertainment, but that doesn’t make it good.

I find it humorous that every year there are SO many people that get SO upset about “snubs”. Maybe we should all just realize that we are in the “golden age” of television and there’s no way that everyone can be pleased! I think NEARLY every nominee is deserving of their nomination – with the exception of any nomination dealing with “Scandal” or the severely overrated “Downton Abbey”. See? You can’t please everyone!

People get upset because the same shows and actors are nominated every year- regardless if they really deserved it. I think many of the nominated are fine actors, but they didn’t have their best year. Yet they still get nominated. Meanwhile there are so many actors that cant get a nomination no matter what they do. It’s very frustrating as a fan.

Monica Potter is the worst snub in the history of Emmy snubs, but another disappointing snub which has seemed to be the case for every year since the show premiered is no Peter Krause! He was almost as good as Potter in this past season. I said almost, based on the video that Kristina taped for her kids alone she deserved not just a nod but THE WIN! I could name a few actresses on the list that could have been replaced with Potter. They are good, but no one was as good as Potter this year period!

Great post! Your “snappy judgements” are the only post-awards review I follow.
Seriously, I don’t get why there are still people just generating long lists of snubs. There’s two things these people need to get:
1. The Emmy’s don’t like genre shows. There are people who thought that maybe the success of Game of Thrones could change that, but the Tatania Maslany thing totally wipes that theory off the face of the earth.
2. The Emmy’s are NOT ABOUT YOUR FAVORITES. They are about the favorites of a group of television experts. GET OVER IT.

I’m so over everyone raving about Monica Potter. She’s my least favorite character on Parenthood. She’s just an unlikeable character, even with cancer. I’d like to see some Emmy love for Mae Whitman or, of course, Lauren Graham.

Don’t even watch most of those” supposed “great shows that were nominated ,mentioned or won because I have seen some of them and they are either really boring or very well connected to the people that vote for the Emmy nominations .Everyone has their favorites but come on the same shows win most of the time .Some shows that are really GOOD shows don’t even get an honorable mention such as Castle which is a very well written show and STANA KATIC is a very good actress maybe eventually shows who don’t neatly fit into a specific category will get their over due recognition .HOPEFULLY!

Just because a show is on cable does not mean it is a good show. Or just because an actor/actress puts in a dramatic or comedic performance all the time makes them the best at their craft. The awards shows have become a joke, with the networks, cable companies and actors and their pr machines lobbying and buying nominations and awards. Is it an accident that abc spends so much money to convince you that Grey’s and even more, Scandal, are great shows. And now Scandal has the best leading lady that has Ben featured on every major magazine cover and every TV show possible and been nominated for every award except the award voted on by the fans. It helps abc’s image that Grey’s and Scandal were created by S. Rhimes, and Scandal stars K. Washington, both prominant black women with close ties to President Obama. Alec Baldwin was rewarded for years with acting awards, when he provided a ordinary proformance onscreen coupled with bad behavior off screen. Did it help he was Vice-president of the SAG at the time, probably did not hurt.
As far as all the comments of people saying Castle does not deserve an Emmy, nor the actors on that show. I just have this to say, do all shows or their actors deserve awards no. Do some that get awards not deserve them, yes. But, Stana Katic, Castle Actress, is one of the most underrated actresses I have ever seen. She has both dramatic and comedic acting range and usually displays both in each episode. I have watched every episode of Homeland and Castle and can tell you that Stana Katic’s acting has more range, depth and consistency than either Claire Danes or Daniel Lewis, who keep getting awards and praise. My point is you should not judge an actor just because you do not like the production they are in, and you should not be impressed by awards unless you fully understand how they are awarded.

I want to add to my earlier post that Kerry Washington is one of my favorite actresses, I was a fan from her movies. I do not watch Grey’s or Scandal. I tried Scandal the first year but it did not hold my interest and they were talking like the show was going to be canceled. I was trying to make a point that it costs a lot of money for companies to decide which programs and which actors they will propose for an Emmy, so it really isn’t just professionals watching all the shows and talking am pings themselves about great performances. They only review and consider what is submitted by networks, cable companies and streaming.